A SINGLE EYEBROW ROSE, an expression crossing his features that screamed cocky with hints of amusement laced into it. blue eyes dragging down the frame of the boy, taking joy in the negative signs of emotions Ian was displaying. â he definitely took more enjoyment than most, if most was even the right term to use; did others find enjoyment in the uncomfortable-ness of others? whether they did or didnât. ciaran did. it was one of his favorite â the best form of entertainment he had found.Â
âyou canât remember?â laughter followed his words, choosing not to think of how he did not believe him at all. people lied â it was to be expected.Â
âactually ââ cutting into the sentence âyouâre an asshole to everybodyâ the one thing he managed to find offensive. âIâm not an asshole to shock, you think she would let me get away with that kind of shit?â his tone suddenly falling tight, as if he had just given away a secret. the trio ( him, shock and barrel ) weâre close-knit. a family. yet still, he wouldnât have put it past the girl to put him in his place, and that would effect him more than he was willing to admit or think about. â but still, he let his silence fall again, he had spoke his own defense.Â
a step closer, smirk cruelly turning up his lips as his head tilted â letting a fake look of thinking play out before shaking his head. âwhy would I be done when this is so much fun. please do, tell me more about how iâm such an asshole.â
Offending Ciaran would have struck plenty of people as a victory, something accomplished and paid back, but it had the unpleasant effect of making Ian feel worse about the whole situation. How did that even happen? He wasn't the bad guy here, what sort of wildly skewed manipulative insanity did the other male just exude that infected him so much? It was starting to get to the point of exhausting trying to be, well nice wasn't the right word because nice went so far over Ciaran's head that it likely didn't even register, but at least something. Anything. He was struggling.
"That's not really-" again, Ian felt the regret hit before the words even fully left his lips, he really needed to stop trying. "Fine, you're not an asshole to people you like." Or tolerated, who knew; Ian avoided the rest of the trio as much as possible so he wasn't sure what type of bizarre dynamic they had going.
He wasn't sure how exactly his already knotted stomach could still just drop in that annoyingly eager way when Ciaran stepped closer, the universe was conspiring against him. "Everyone else already tells you that," Ian resolved and dropped his gaze away. He would have agreed but something about it hit a nerve, a weak and uncomfortable one; the last person he wanted to be was that one. The one who made snide remarks just to point out flaws, there was too thin a line between defending himself and hurting someone else that he didn't want to cross. Ciaran just kept pushing him to it, like he was waiting for one more person to write him off as terrible, kept making it a battle not to.
"I'm sorry, alright?" Maybe Ciaran deserved it but that didn't mean Ian felt right about the frustrated comment, he didn't take any pleasure in being right at some costs.